Gophers aim to shoot out of slump at Nebraska
Head coach Richard Pitino of the Minnesota Golden Gophers looks on while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on January 22, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 59-57. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - If Minnesota wants its name called without any stress on Selection Sunday, the time is now to start stringing together wins.
The Gophers (16-8, 6-7) find themselves in a three-game skid heading into Wednesday night’s match-up at Nebraska. Minnesota faces a Cornhuskers squad that has lost seven straight games after a 3-3 start. They’re also without one of the top offensive players, Isaac Copeland Jr., who tore his ACL after playing 14 minutes in a home loss to Ohio State.
Copeland had been Nebraska’s second-leading scorer (14 points per game) and rebounder (5.4 per game). The four Cornhuskers’ losses since have all come by double digits. It’s a game the Gophers must have with a 1-6 road record this season.
Richard Pitino knows the injury bug as well as anyone. He tried to navigate the Big Ten schedule last year without Amir Coffey, Eric Curry all season and Dupree McBrayer playing on one leg.
“Injuries are a factor, so you hate to see that for them. When you get an injury like that in the middle of the season, it rocks your world. Much like we saw last year for us,” Pitino said.
It’s even more important to get a road win after the Gophers were physically manhandled in a 79-55 loss at Michigan State on Saturday. The Spartans jumped out to a 21-5 lead early, had a 35-24 lead at the half and went on a 25-9 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to put the game way and end their own three-game losing streak.
Michigan State played tougher and faster than the Gophers when it mattered the most, leaving plenty for Pitino to fix before their next road test.
“Second half the first three minutes they came out and threw a punch at us, we didn’t take it. We’ve got to learn to take punches and throw one back,” senior guard Dupree McBrayer said.
That metaphoric punch comes in the form of being more efficient on offense and making shots, especially from the perimeter. The Gophers were 5-of-14 from three-point range against the Spartans, but two of them banked in.
Before that, Minnesota was a combined 3-of-29 from the perimeter in losses to Wisconsin and at Purdue.
“It’s about staying confident and knowing the shots are going to fall eventually. You’ve just got to shoot your way out of the slump and stay confident,” senior forward Jordan Murphy said.
The problem for the Gophers is they haven’t played well on the road most of the season. Their lone road win came at Wisconsin, 59-52. It was their first win in Madison since 2009.
Minnesota opened the Big Ten season at Ohio State and got overpowered in a 79-59 loss. They got blown out at Illinois, 95-68, in the first Big Ten win for the Illini. They had a 13-point second half lead at Purdue before the Boilermakers went on a run and got a 73-63 win. Most recently, a 24-point loss at Michigan State last Saturday.
It’s incredibly difficult to win on the road in the Big Ten, but the Gophers need to do a better job of at least being competitive. In the losses to the Spartans, Illini and Buckeyes, Minnesota had no answer for their energy and physicality.
It’s something Pitino knows has to change at Nebraska.
“If you want to win in this league, you’ve got to embrace the physicality,” Pitino said.
The game at Nebraska also represents an opportunity for the Gophers to go on what would be a much-needed run. They host Indiana Saturday, and Michigan on Feb. 21. They also have opportunities for road wins at Rutgers and Northwestern before a big home game March 5 against Purdue.
There are still plenty of opportunities for quality wins in the Gophers’ last seven games. It starts with making more shots. In three of their last five losses, the Gophers have shot 40 percent from the field or worse.
In their last five Big Ten losses, they’re shooting 16-of-72 from three-point range (22 percent.). Minnesota is last in the Big Ten in three-point shooting and No. 321 nationally.
“The ball is not going in, pretty simple. It’s hard, if it’s not going to go in, you better be tough at other areas,” Pitino said. “You’ve got to take great shots, and I don’t think we’re taking bad shots. You’ve got to be confident.”